To understand why the July 12 moon, and another supermoon on Sept. 9, aren’t really supermoons means digging into the science. NBC explains that people "play fast and loose" with the supermoon definition.

The point when the moon is closest to the Earth every month, at 221,765 miles away, is called perigee. When the full moon falls within the perigee time, it is a supermoon. But people seemed to have adapted the supermoon definition to stretch to a full moon that is within 24 hours of a perigee — which is accurate for those upcoming July and September moons.

The Aug. 10 moon is actually the only one where the full moon is right on time for a perigee.

But even those who eschew strict definitions and just like to look at the full moon may be a little disappointed by the hype surrounding the term "supermoon."